Efficacy of Microbial Antagonists in the Management of Bacterial Wilt of Field-Grown Tomato
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Date
2023-07-03
Authors
Wamania, Arthur O.
Muthomia, James W.
Mutitu, Eunice
Wanjohi, J. Waceke
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum can cause up to 100% yield loss in tomato production and has
compelled many farmers to abandon previous productive farms. Consequently, the absence of an effective
control method demands an intensive such for a functional management option. The study was carried out to
evaluate the efficacy of microbial antagonists in managing bacterial wilt under field conditions. The experiment
was laid down under Randomized Complete Block Design and four replicates maintained for each treatment.
Antagonistic strains of locally isolated Trichoderma hamatum, T. atroviride, T. harzianum, Bacillus subtilis, Serratia
spp., and Acinetobacter spp. were assessed. Commercial formulations of T. viride (Bio Cure F®) and Pseudomonas
fluorescence (Bio Cure B®) were included as standard checks. Treatment application was initiated at transplanting
by drenching the rhizosphere with 50 ml of the inoculum. Application was repeated every two weeks
until tenth week after transplanting. Data was collected on plant stand count, disease incidence, disease severity,
plant height, plant biomass, and fruit weight. Trichoderma hamatum was the most effective in experiment 1,
reducing crop mortality, incidence and AUDPC by up to 51.7%, 49.3% and 58.2%, respectively. It also exhibited
the highest percentage yield increase by up to 196.4% compared to the untreated control. In contrast, B. subtilis
showed superior disease suppression in experiment 2, reducing crop mortality, incidence and AUDPC by up to
44.6%, 48.5% and 51.0%, respectively. It also increased biomass by approximately 62.0% in both experiments.
It was closely followed by Serratia spp., which also gave the highest yield output in experiment 2 of up to
233.0%. These findings suggest that novel antagonistic strains T. hamatum and B. subtilis presents unique opportunities
for exploiting local microbial resources as biocontrol products. These products can be incorporated as
part of an integrated bacterial wilt management program in farms where production is significantly affected by
the disease.
Description
article
Keywords
Biological control, Trichoderma spp., Microbial biopesticides, Bacterial wilt, Tomato
Citation
Arthur, W. O., Muthomi, J. W., Mutitu, E., & Wanjohi, W. J. (2023). Efficacy of microbial antagonists in the management of bacterial wilt of field-grown tomato. Journal of Natural Pesticide Research, 100051.